As sixth formers arrive from 8am on results day to find out how they did in their A-levels, Tracey Griffin, Bournemouth and Poole college’s head of sixth form, will be ready with a cup of tea and a hanky.

“If they haven’t got the grades, they’ll need some TLC,” says Griffin. “I’ll have all my staff here to help – we’ve been through it enough to know that it’s never too late. We’ll scoop them up and show them that there’s always a place for them at a university somewhere; there’s always something you can do.”

She’s talking about Clearing – the system that makes tens of thousands of university places available on results day to those whose grades are lower than expected. And she’s right: over the past few years, the number of students securing places has steadily risen – up from 50,000 in 2013 to 61,300 last year. “Clearing has matured into a standard and widely used admissions route,” says Ucas chief executive Mary Curnock Cook.

How does it work? Organised by Ucas, Clearing matches students who haven’t secured a university place with courses that still have vacancies.

Missing your grades doesn’t necessarily mean you haven’t been accepted by your chosen university – some accept students even if their grades are lower than expected – so check your Track status on the Ucas website from 8am on results day to see if you’re in Clearing.

This year, students can sign up for a new Ucas service whereby universities can phone them to offer them a place if they’re unplaced on results day. But even students who have signed up can go through Clearing and don’t have to commit to these offers made directly.

With several offers potentially coming their way, students should take stock and not jump at the first course offered, warn careers advisers.

Schools and sixth forms see results the day before they are released to pupils, so know which students will need help, and teachers will normally be on hand to advise and steer. Ucas advertises the official vacancy list online and continually updates it as universities make offers.

University league tables 2016

Read more

Students – not parents or teachers – need to phone the university hotlines. They may receive an offer over the phone from admissions tutors, which will be confirmed in Track. Mercifully, students cannot accept an offer until 5pm on results day, giving them critical thinking time.

And it pays to keep checking; offers are made, rejected and re-offered, and all admissions tutors advise perseverance as places pop up again. Although most decisions are made in the first two days, Clearing actually runs until October.

“It’s the best decision I ever made,” says Douglas Tham, now in his final year of politics and media at Bournemouth University. He went through Clearing to find a new course, having spent two years studying law at Kingston University. “I called the Clearing hotline – they looked at my A-level grades and I interviewed well. It was a last-minute decision but I’m so glad I made it.”

Case study: changing direction

After the shocking death of a fellow student, Amy Swift struggled to focus on her A-levels and didn’t get the grades she needed. She found her place studying marketing at the University of Hull Business School through Clearing

I wanted to be an artist, but my portfolio was in a car that got stolen and it was too late to put together another one. So I swapped to physiotherapy and was accepted by Cardiff, my top choice.

But on the day of my biology A-level a boy at our school was killed in a car crash; none of us did well – we were all so upset. My grades weren’t good enough. I’d always thought I’d never go to university if it meant going through Clearing, but there I was.

I decided to look at marketing courses – I already thought of it as a creative degree and had written about the power of art in marketing for my A-level. I was accepted to three universities but picked Hull over Swansea and King’s College London, having visited the weekend after results.

It was a gamble – I knew I hadn’t done enough research but I really enjoyed some aspects of the course. I think I can still do art in my spare time, but now I have business skills too.

I’m now in Sri Lanka, managing a children’s charity, trying to sort out the accounts and make it more businesslike and successful. I absolutely love it.

I couldn’t have done this without my degree. When I return to England, I’d like to set up an NGO that finds similar charities and helps them get back on track. I do feel everything happens for a reason.

Keep up with the latest on Guardian Students: follow us on Twitter at @GdnStudents – and become a member to receive exclusive benefits and our weekly newsletter.